ON FARM SHEEP INNOVATION Sheep CRC’s legacy: making thepossiblepractical Professor James Rowe has “The challenge [for the first Sheep comfort of lightweight knitwear to been at the helm of the CRC] was to understand the complex consumer perceptions and willingness Sheep Cooperative Research interactions between the dual to pay.” Centre (CRC) for the past 17 production system and to identify gaps Delivering practical tools years, overseeing research and in our knowledge,” he said. The third stage of the Sheep CRC vision development (R&D) collaborations “This integrated program of research, was to provide industry with practical that have ‘made the possible focusing on sheep production, sparked ways to integrate and apply the new practical’ and driven rapid the next stage of the vision, which knowledge and technologies. transformation in the Australian focused on opportunities to take the sheep industry into the emerging era of This has resulted in a suite of tools sheep industry. and technologies for use throughout DNA technologies. It also focused on The CRC is due to wind up this using genomics to accelerate genetic the supply chain, including ASKBILL year, and James explained how gain and select for a broad range of for flock-management decisions, DNA the vision that drove these traits simultaneously.” testing and RamSelect for breeding, and DEXA analysis at processing. practical outcomes evolved. Driving genetic gain The hallmark of the second CRC, which “The interconnectedness and ability The first Sheep CRC was established to use all the technologies in a in July 2001 with a vision to understand began in July 2007, was the Information seamless way are great attributes of the integration of wool and lamb Nucleus Flock program (transitioning a CRC, covering all key aspects of production systems. to become the MLA-funded Resource sheep production and product quality,” Flock in 2012). James said. That initial vision evolved over the past 17 years, as the CRC delivered a range The Information Nucleus Flock was “With less than six months to go until the of major innovations that changed designed to provide the data for Sheep CRC is wound up, the focus is the face of the sheepmeat and wool genomic-based predictions and squarely on encouraging all sectors of industries. These include electronic simultaneously understand the the sheep industry to use these tools identification, automatic weighing and underlying biology and interaction and technologies to ensure the benefits drafting, DNA technologies for faster between traits. of R&D continue to have an impact for genetic gain, supporting dual-energy According to James, meeting consumer years to come.” ■ X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) demands for product quality was front technology for measuring carcase lean of mind for CRC participants at that time. meat yield, and data systems to improve sheepcrc.org.au sheep wellbeing and production. “This focus resulted in successful Sheep CRC Final Conference initiatives to understand the importance 19–20 March Bringing the industry together of lean meat yield, as well as eating Dubbo, NSW According to Professor James Rowe, quality, in terms of meeting consumer research into wool and sheepmeat demands,” he said. production was organised along mostly independent paths before the CRC “On the wool side, the key challenge was established. was to measure and relate next-to-skin John Sutherland, manager of Pooginook Merino Stud, was an early adopter of the DNA Flock Profile test for use on the Paraway Pastoral commercial Merino flock. 2222